Objective Events

This activity is like a stroll through the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D. C., as well as through Texas museums in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Fort Worth, Abilene, Orange, and El Paso, as all prints are reproductions of paintings from these galleries. Students are challenged to identify the artist and the work and answer questions about the art and the artists found in the Art Smart Bulletin, published every other year by TuneIn.

Students compete as individuals, awarded by grade level, to identify composers and selections from some of the world's best known classics. Contestants have approximately 30 seconds to write answers as they hear 15-second segments of the music in competition. Students also take a 20-item multiple choice/true-false test over concepts found in Arts Education IDEAS current year PSIA Music Memory Student Handbook. Multiple teaching resources also accompany the bulletin.

In a comprehensive, multiple choice, 30-minute math test, students are challenged beyond their grade levels in a variety of general math questions, including algebraic equations introduced in grades 6-8.

Contestants find high-speed solutions to math problems in this exciting and challenging 10-minute contest in mental mathematics.

A thinker's delight, this 30-minute contest develops mathematical reasoning and knowledge and requires application of problem solving skills toward realistic problems. Any calculator that the student has mastered may be used in competition.

Earth, Life, and Physical Science information found in current textbooks, plus items from current science publications list, are tested in this 30-minute, multiple choice contest, which usually consists of 50 test questions.

This event is designed to provide students with experience in obtaining information from visual sources, a valuable life skill. Tests include maps, graphs, & charts needed to answer multiple choice questions derived from the Nystrom Desk Atlas, which students bring to the contest.

As spelling words are pronounced at approximately five words per minute, contestants may either write or print each word. While 20% of the test words come from outside sources, 80% come from the PSIA Spelling List. A different list is published annually for the three grade groups.

SAT preparation skills, including word usage, reading comprehension, and analogies, are honed through this challenging multiple choice, 30-minute contest.

Students use all elements of the dictionary and learn practical techniques for extracting and applying resource information.

Good listening skills enhance any academic area, and the study materials are useful for all students. Contestants may take notes as they listen to the contest script on tape, and then use these notes as they answer objective test questions in 10 minutes.